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How do you conduct auditions/callbacks? Do you provide sides/scenes prior so auditioners can prepare? Do you give direction to the auditioners?

I am committed to conducting auditions and callbacks in a completely professional and structured way.  This includes scheduled times and/or time blocks, making sure auditioners are not sitting around for hours, etc.  Having started my career as a performer, I am keenly aware that the audition process constitutes the "first impression" a company makes on the actor.  As such, a professional and well-run audition process has a direct impact on the quality of the cast.

Regarding auditions, I prefer that the initial audition be singing only.  This gives me a sense who can handle which roles vocally, as well as their look.  Occasionally I give direction to someone during an initial audition, ask for something to be sung again or slightly differently, etc.  However most of the time I do not give direction during an initial audition.

Regarding callbacks, I provide a list of songs to those getting called back but I do not provide specific scenes prior to callbacks.  When it comes to scene reading my aim is to see what someone brings naturally.  That said, I typically do give some direction during callbacks to see 1) if the individual can instinctively grasp my core vision for the character, 2) how well they respond to and apply the direction, and 3) their attitude when being given direction.  

What is the one thing you wish auditioners WOULD and would NOT do during an audition.

I wish auditioners would choose a song that not only fits the show and/or the specific role they want, but also one they connect powerfully with and through which they are fully willing to share themselves.

I wish auditioners would not get overly frustrated with themselves upon forgetting song words such that their negative emotions overshadow their positive energy and human spirit.

How do you handle "rejection" yourself and what advice would you give others (auditioners, prospective directors, etc.)?

I personally handle rejection in two specific ways:

1) Fully acknowledging that which I have absolutely no control over

2) Choosing to believe that if something doesn't work out the way I planned, there's a bigger reason or lesson for me to gain from it

To auditioners specifically, I would say throw yourself fully at the role you want but do not be attached to getting it.  Attachment to an outcome is what creates pain.  The puzzle of putting together a cast is a complex one.  Often times if you didn't get a role it had less to do with you than it did with a myriad of other factors (e.g. the individual playing opposite you and whether the look was right between you, whether the director was forced to cast the show younger or older due to who showed up at auditions, etc.).

During callbacks, how do you decide who to pair up in scenes?

After initial auditions I usually have a sense going into callbacks of certain pairs I may want to see together, have them read together, etc.  But I am always open to being surprised by an unexpected connection between two actors.  In fact this is part of what makes callbacks so fun since you get to see far more of people than you did at the initial audition.  Therefore I typically want to see the maximum number of combinations possible at callbacks, not only because it gives me the most options but because it also respects everyone in the room (all of whom earned a callback).

What advice would you give auditioners who feel the need to analyze or second guess the order or pairings in a callback?

My advice is this (to repeat):  Fully acknowledge that which you have absolutely no control over  :)

You have no control over the director's background, experience, vision for the show, vision for the characters, etc.  In addition you have no control over whether you "look" like what the director has in mind for the role.  Bottom line, whatever is driving the director's decisions for pairings in a callback setting should be moot to you.  

Your one and only job is to bring your absolute best stuff to the reading and singing (no matter who you're paired with), leave the callback knowing there was literally nothing more you could do, and let the outcome be what it is knowing that all you had control over was what you did in the room.  If you brought your absolute best to the callback, you did your job.

When directing, do you have a vision of the characterizations, blocking, etc., or do you let the actors take the lead and then shape them?

A combination of both.  As a director I always have a strong vision for the show as a whole, as well as a vision for characterizations and staging.  However, I'm not the one doing the performing.  Every actor is a human being who brings their own unique set of skills and instincts to the role.  

Therefore I view directing as a partnership between director and actor whereby I share my foundational vision as clearly as possible with the actors, then allow and even encourage them to create, evolve and grow within that vision.  The result is a much richer experience for the actors and a show that has far more life, spirit and dimension to it than if it were a single, enforced, tyrannical vision.

Tell me about your favorite show(s) to DIRECT, and why.

I love directing all kinds of musicals since each presents its own set of fun and challenges.  But I especially enjoy directing well-known musicals whose core human message may be hidden beneath proverbial audience expectations of songs, character types, and so on.  I like to dust these shows off and do creative things to shake them up.  

Above all I like to direct shows that are well-crafted with great music, characters with depth, and a core human story with which audiences can connect.

Specific favorites: West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Seussical, Fiddler on the Roof, Beauty and the Beast, Music Man

Any other words of wisdom you think auditioners or prospective employers might want to know?

I live, eat and breathe directing musicals.  When I am involved in directing a show there's literally no place on earth I'd rather be.  From preparation to auditions to rehearsals to show time, I cherish each and every moment of the process.  

My motto is: "Doing shows is fun, but there's nothing more fun than excellence."  

Above all else, I love to challenge my casts to reach far beyond their own expectations and deliver a show that's as professional in quality as any equity theatre could do.  When people are given such a powerful vision and directed effectively during the process, a phenomenally professional outcome isn't just a possibility - it's predictable.  That's my commitment for every show I direct, and that's why I do this.